10 cool Chrome extensions

The Chrome browser has millions of users for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is the ability to extend its usefulness by adding extensions. These are downloaded from the Chrome Web Store, and vary from simple utilities to full-blown web apps.

There are extensions that stand alone, and others that add value to existing apps and web services. Some are so useful that Chrome users should take a look and see what they are missing.

Extensions can be installed on any Chrome browser on Macs, Windows, and Linux systems. That means they can also be used on Chromebooks without issues.

Take a look at the 10 cool extensions in this collection, you just might find one or two that meet your needs. All of these extensions are free, so there's nothing to lose.

Published: February 6, 2014 -- 11:54 GMT (03:54 PST)

Caption by: James Kendrick

Awesome New Tab Page

Good home screens get even better when they can be customized by the user to provide information at a glance and easy access to apps. This extension does all of that and more, with its own collection of widgets that can be installed on the home page.

The Awesome New Tab Page becomes the default screen displayed when the user opens a new tab in the Chrome browser. It replaces the new page that Chrome throws up by default.

The page is built by dragging apps and widgets to the desired location on the page. Once the page layout is just right it can be backed up to the cloud to restore on any Chrome installation.

Widgets designed to work with Awesome New Tab Page are downloaded individually from the Chrome Web Store. They can then be placed on the home page with drag and drop. Widgets installed on the page shown above are the clock, weather, and the long calendar displayed to the right of the Facebook icon.

Checker Plus for Gmail

This extension is a full-blown app for those using Gmail that is as good as they get. It sits in the upper-right corner of the browser window and signals when new email comes in.

That's useful but the least of the functionality found in Check Plus for Gmail. The icon in the browser bar shows how many new emails came in via a counter badge.

Tapping that icon is when the fun begins. A popup appears showing a rich list of each unread email. This includes the sender and a short summary of the email. Tap an email in the list and a full preview opens up that allows interaction with the email, including replying.

Drop-down lists in the extension provide full email functionality. All of this takes place in the extension, the Gmail window is never opened. It makes it possible to quickly work with new email without moving away from the current tab.

There is a nice accessibility feature, voice notifications, that has the extension notify you by voice when new email comes in. It will also read the email aloud. This can be toggled on and off in the settings.

Write Space

Those needing a simple text editor may find this extension to be useful. It presents a blank editor window completely devoid of distractions.

Write Space saves data locally and avoids cloud storage for those leery of the unknown. It auto-saves the work in progress with every key press so it will never lose any data no matter what happens. It remembers where you left off when you last exited the extension, and all work is done offline so no web connection is required to use Write Space.

Boomerang for Gmail

This extension attaches itself to Gmail to provide the ability to schedule when a particular email should be sent. An example of a scheduled email could be that you remember a friend's birthday in the future so you write an email and schedule it to send on the day of the event.

Boomerang adds a strip at the bottom of the Gmail compose window (pictured above) to provide options for scheduling the email. The regular options (without scheduling) are still there, so Boomerang is easy to use when desired but is out of the way when not needed.

Another good feature of Boomerang is the ability to have it move messages from your inbox into a label/folder automatically. You can then set a schedule for them, and they will reappear in the inbox at the top of the list at the specified time. No more forgetting to deal with those messages of less importance.

My Chrome Theme

Sometimes you need to have fun, and this extension is just the thing. It allows making custom themes for Chrome that are nothing fancy, but colorful. It's nice to personalize the browser you spend so much time looking at each day.

The graphical theme editor is totally point-and-click in nature, and personal background images can be uploaded for inclusion in custom themes.

Gmail Offline

This extension does what its name states, it allows working with Gmail without a web connection. It synchronizes the user's Gmail the first time it's run, and thereafter keeps the offline stuff synced with the online service.

Users of Gmail Offline can work with email received while connected, including read, respond to, search and archive. All activites performed are synced at the next web connection.

The extension uses a simpler interface than the Gmail web site to optimize the offline experience.